ITU Partners with Anti-Doping Division of CAS
— by Kevin Mackinnon
The International Triathlon Union (ITU) became the first sports fed- eration to “delegate its first-instance authority to adjudicate alleged anti-doping rule violations and any sanctions” to the newly formed Anti-Doping Division of the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS).
The new Anti-Doping Division began operations on January 1, 2019. The idea is to make appeals for drug cases fairer, quicker and cheaper (the CAS will “bear the cost of any cases heard by the division”), according to International Council for Arbitration in Sport president, John Coates.
By signing up with the Anti-Doping Division, the ITU and its athletes will get “efficient and cost-effective resolution to any anti-doping disputes,” said Ivo Eusebio, a retired judge from the Swiss Federal Tribunal and president of the CAS Anti-Doping Division.
This change won’t make any difference to Ironman athletes as it has always used a private company that utilizes the same arbitrators that this new agency will be hiring, so the company isn’t planning on making any changes to its appeals system for now.